POP UP GALLERY「SCANDAL her ～Kanojo-tachi no Atelier Ten～ (A Girls' Atelier Exhibition)」 to be held at Tower Records Abeno Hoop

Special event space 「SpaceABENO」 has opened at Tower Records Abeno Hoop. For its first project, POP UP GALLERY「SCANDAL her ～Kanojo-tachi no Atelier Ten～」 will be held from 3/26 (Tue.) to 4/14 (Sun.) in commemoration of the first release of SCANDAL's private label "her."

「SCANDAL her ～Kanojo-tachi no Atelier Ten～」 will be an exhibition of how the world views of the songs on SCANDAL's double A-side single 『Masterpiece / Mabataki』 (out on 3/27 from SCANDAL's private label 「her」) were imagined and directed.

These will be 20 special days during which you can experience SCANDAL's appeal from various angles, where there will also be an exhibiton featuring panel pictures you can't see anywhere else, and where original merch/goods will be sold. Details on the original goods will be announced at a later date.

We've announcedSCANDAL TOUR 2019"Fuzzy Summer Mood"!Even though our fan club tour before thatHasn't even startedWe've revealed our next tour︎A live house tour that'll start in June!This will be our first tour since the start of our new era,And we'll be going on a trip filled with a good moodDuring a season when ambiguous/fuzzy changes take place︎

Also!Each of the membersWill be going out to different CD stores to be one-day managers!

During yesterday's LINE LIVE we decided where we're goingI'll be going to Nagoya〜♡ So happyI want to make it a fun timeWhile talking to everyone at a close distance!Leave 3/26 open, okay︎

Regarding "Mabataki," they said on the stream that they'll most likely play it during the next stream (March 25th).

Also, I did record the entire stream, but it's not perfect (stops and buffers about twice). I'll upload it only if someone else doesn't upload a better version of theirs soon~ Someone else just uploaded it (link). Will do a translated summary soon.

February too went byIn no time at all, didn't itYou guys haven't caught colds, right?This month we progressed all at onceWith our work for its releaseWe've finished the music video shoots and the music recordingsOf "Masterpiece / Mabataki"Our new songs that'll be released next month!This is our first double A-side singleWhich means that we shot MVs for both songsBoth of them look like they'll turn out to be greatI want everyone to hear and see them both soon〜︎Their images are rapidly taking shapeWe'll be talking about all kinds of things againOn our LINE LIVE on the 25th, so please look forward to itWatch if you're free at night, okayー︎They're freshly completed works we're proud ofThat we just finished mixing todayOur new songs "Masterpiece / Mabataki"Will be released on 3/27

【Translated Summary】LINE LIVE Specials to Celebrate SCANDAL's New Single, ＃1 - January 25th

This recorded stream unfortunately doesn't have the first 10 or so minutes of the broadcast, nor was the stream made available for on-demand playback afterwards. I'll do my best to try and record the two upcoming streams myself!

Spoiler:

0:00 - 0:32-RINA talks about "Mabataki." They wanted it to be the complete opposite of "Masterpiece" soundwise, and it has a plentiful band sound while also being soft. It has more of a fresh feeling to it than it being a straight-rock number.

-HARU mentions how they'll now be recording it. The MC asks, "So...we won't be able to hear it today?" The band laughs and says no as they haven't completely finished it yet.

*Note: The MC is supposed to be Nipper, the dog statue in front of the band. Nipper is essentially the mascot/logo of JVC/Victor Entertainment, which SCANDAL's new label "her" is part of.

-From memory: Before "Mabataki" they talked about "Masterpiece," which features lyrics by RINA and music by MAMI.

0:32 - 2:15-The MC mentions how, since there will be a ton of announcements, they'll be revealing them on boards that the band will hold up. First, TOMO holds up a red board containing the tracklisting and different editions of the single (all info can be found here). They tell everyone to take screenshots of it. The band tells TOMO, since screenshots will be taken, to make "screenshot-worthy faces."

2:30 - 5:40-The MC says that they'll now be revealing the covers. The band looks around the bottom of their chairs for boards, but they realize that they're not there and that they'll be revealed on the stream itself. From left to right, the covers go from Regular Edition; LE A; and LE B. The band says in unison how cool they are. RINA starts reading out what people are saying about the covers ("Stylish!", "So cute!", "I want all of them!", etc.).

-The MC asks them to speak about how the covers came about. TOMO says how she's been liking and following a collage artist called Q-TA for a while now and has always wanted to work with them. She just put out an offer on the table, like, "Q-TA-san, how's this?" HARU mentions that they asked them to come out to a live show of theirs, and they made live show-like collages for the covers. RINA says that they sent over the collages to them the day after the show, and how happy the band was that they were pretty speedy. The MC infers from that that the band didn't ask Q-TA to make them a certain way. RINA clarifies that they did ask them to include certain nuances, told them what artwork of theirs on their IG that the band likes, and asked them to listen to their songs. The MC then asks if their songs and artwork are usually linked together, and the band says that's exactly on point.

5:45 - 15:10-They announce the what's included with each edition. Once again, all info can be found here. They first hold up an approximately 2 ft. sized board with the cover of the magazine that will come with LE A. The content that will be included in the magazine: talks about their new label "her," exclusive pictures, and solo interviews. RINA calls it "A special book packed with various aspects of who SCANDAL currently is." She then reads a comment that asked, "Will it be a different size [than the board that's being held up]?" The band laughs and quickly says that no, it'll be much smaller―more like newspaper-sized. The MC asks what the content in the magazine will be. The band pauses, and the MC repeats the word "content" again. They laugh and say, again, that it'll have their talks about their new label, pictures, and solo interviews. They also mention that there will be a ton of pictures in it.

-They move on to LE B, which will come with a t-shirt with the Regular Edition cover printed on it. TOMO holds it up as they exclaim, "So cute!" It'll come in a size L and is on the looser side (more or less equivalent to a US men's M). On the back near the top is the logo for "her."

-They then go back over the details for both LEs. They clarify how many pages the magazine will be (36 pages), and while HARU holds up the board again, MAMI points out that it says "Vol. 1," implying that there will be more magazines to come in the future. They pass the board over to MAMI so that it can be seen more clearly for "screenshot time." MAMI starts making faces and the band encourages her to keep up the "screenshot-worthy faces." TOMO then stands up and holds the t-shirt up to her as if she's wearing it, and the band tells her again to make "screenshot-worthy faces" while posing.

-The MC asks them to go back over the release details such as the release date, 3/27. The MC says how that day is also Quentin Tarantino's and Mariah Carey's birthdays. The band laughs and goes, "Really?"

-The band mentions how it'll be their first single release on a CD in 2 years, 8 months (since Take Me Out, July 2016)―almost 3 years.

-The MC says that there are a ton of comments from people saying things like they want to see the magazine/they want the t-shirt. RINA says she's happy that people are this pleased with them.

15:10 - 17:00-The MC says, "Speaking of 'Mabataki'...", and the band is handed a pack of shirataki noodles because the words sound similar to each other (lol).

17:15 - 23:40-They then talk about which first press bonuses will be available at which stores, and the info is revealed on another red board. Once again, all info can be found here.

-On the board it lists that HMV, TSUTAYA, WonderGoo/Shinseido, and "SCANDAL-supporting stores" (AKA other stores that have not been determined yet) will have A4-size clear files. Each store has one "Pattern __" (A-D) written on it, and the MC reveals that "Pattern" refers to a member. That means that the stores will offer a clear file featuring one member on it (AKA a solo clear file). They then hold a lottery to determine which member will be offered at which store. The band is offered a box, and each of them pull out a slip of paper folded in half containing a name of a store. TOMO gets "SCANDAL-supporting stores," HARU gets TSUTAYA, RINA gets HMV, and MAMI gets WonderGoo/Shinseido. To see it explained more plainly, all info can be found here.

-Next, they discuss another "pre-order bonus" where whomever purchases the singles between 1/25 - 3/10 at a selected list of stores will receive a bonus A4 clear file. This will have all 4 members on it. Once again, all info can be found here. The MC makes a mistake with the year and says "2009" instead of "2019." The band catches it, laughs, and says, "That was 10 years ago!"

24:40 - 32:20-The next thing up is the "TOWER RECORDS one-day store manager event." Once again, all info can be found here. They will be determining which member will go to which store on the next live stream.

-They then announce the release events ＜Bakuon Shichou-kai (Explosive Listening Party) at Kawasaki CLUB CITTA'＞ & ＜Hohoemi Zadan-kai (Smiling Round-Table Discussion) at Abeno Q's Mall＞. Once again, all info can be found here. "Bakuon Shichou-kai" will be held at the live house CLUB CITTA', and everyone there will listen to their new songs with an explosion and have fun with the band. This will not be a live performance, but will be a live show-like listening party where everyone can get pumped up while listening to the new songs. "Hohoemi Zadan-kai" in Osaka is the pair to the listening party where everyone will have a smile on their face (or at least grin). RINA says that they will probably talk about things you won't hear anywhere else. HARU and RINA trade places with TOMO and MAMI and hold up the info boards for people to screenshot. HARU, holding the "Hohoemi Zadan-kai" board, is told by the other members to smile.

33:25 - 39:50-They ask people for questions. RINA starts answering questions. Her first reply is that all of the members are wearing street clothes.

-Q: "Will you be releasing a DVD?"-M: "Of what?"-H: "We won't."*All laugh*-T: "In the future we will."-R: "We need to have it filmed."-H: "We have no plans currently."

-Q: "Whatever came about with GOTO of comedy trio Yonsentoushin?-Backstory: Last October, SCANDAL made an appearance on a show last October where they surprised GOTO, who loves the band and especially TOMOMI. He was encouraged to invite her out to eat as friends, to which she said yes to. The other people on the show then tell him to get her contact info. Back to the LINE LIVE: TOMO says he hasn't contacted her. RINA mentions that they did attend a live show of theirs afterwards, though. TOMO says that they had exchanged info before that and how he said that that day [they taped the TV show] was the happiest of his life, and that she was thankful for that. After the stream, she tweeted that GOTO did end up contacting her.

-Q: "Did you buy your customary Valentine's chocolates?"-Each year the band does a customary "Valentine's janken (rock-paper-scissors)" where whoever wins at rock-paper-scissors has to buy nice chocolate for the rest of the band for Valentine's Day. The band asks if it's okay if they could do it right then, and the staff replies that it's fine, of course. HARU had done it last year, and this year it'll be RINA's turn to give out chocolate.

-Q: "No tours?"-H: "We have a tour [the MANIA tour in March/April]."

-Q: "What will the MANIA tour be like?"-They think it'll be a lot of fun. RINA mentions that in the past each MANIA member in attendance had been allowed to bring one non-member with them, but this time only MANIA members are allowed, meaning each person attending must be a MANIA member―a true MANIA event. As such, this will probably be a tour where no one can predict will happen.

-They then talk about their first performance of the year: Victor Rock Matsuri 2019 in March, which will be their first time performing there. RINA says that they didn't appear at many festivals last year, and that this year they'll be occasionally appearing at them. They also mention that they'll be appearing at ARABAKI FEST.2019 in April, and that they got such a good response when their appearance was announced.

41:26 - 47:50-The MC asks them what they'll announce for the next stream. They say that they announced quite a bit today, but next time they'll be announcing which members go to which stores for the "store manager for a day" event...and that's all they can really think of. The MC/Nipper says that he'll think of something. HARU says that they'll only now be recording both "Masterpiece" and "Mabataki," and possibly the music video too, which might be done by the next stream.

-People ask RINA to tell everyone during the next live what chocolate she ends up giving out.

-They ask the viewers if there's anything they want to see next time and RINA starts reading through the comments. One viewer says that they can't wait for the music video. Another viewer says that they got married today; the band says congrats and claps for them. TOMO: "If we had a wedding song we'd sing it!" MAMI: "Sorry about that!"

-The MC says that there have been people wondering if could hear a little bit of (at least one of) the new song(s) during the next one. They say possibly!

-A viewer says, "Please cheer me on as I take a college entrance exam!" The band tells them to do their best + fight on. TOMO says she's never taken one, but she's sure it's nervewracking. MAMI mentions how the Center Test is sure to stress anyone out.

-RINA: "Tests didn't make you nervous, do they? Weren't you nervous for your high school one?"-MAMI: "I don't remember."*HARU, a staff member, and MAMI giggle/laugh*-HARU: "What about you, RINA?"-RINA: "I was so nervous! Seriously. I was shaking. My hand was shaking as I was handing it over."-HARU: "What about today?"-RINA: "I'm nervous."-MAMI & MC: "Still?"-RINA: "Due to having to appear in front of everyone."

-RINA says that a lot of girls are asking what brands their clothing are, and to announce them next month? They laugh and are like, "Next month?! That's a month away!"

-Q: "Are you coming out with new Feedback! items?"-A: "We will! We're making them now. They're really cute."

47:50 - 56:10-The MC goes over a few things for next time: Waiting for the new songs, there might be new info to announce, determining the "one-day managers event" member designations and how they'll choose them, and perhaps some things that the viewers have commented.

-M: "Acapella? 'Bitter Chocolate'?"-R: "We've never done acapella, have we?"-T, M, H: "We haven't."-T: "We could probably do it."-M+H: "It's pretty hard to do."-T: "You have to have a good technique."-M: "*reads comments* Gospel?!"*All laugh*-H: "That's crazy!"-S: "We did it when we were attending dance school."

-They talk about how MAMI is good at "Mabataki-ing" (blinking), and she goes up to the camera and starts blinking rapidly.

-A viewer comments about the abundance of English being used ("Masterpiece," "release") and the band tries to translate them to Japanese. "Release" = "発売" (hatsubai). The band thinks about what "masterpiece" would be, and TOMO comes up with "とても大事な欠片" (totemo daiji na kakera; literally translates to "very important pieces," but that's not exactly what "masterpiece" means in English lol). RINA says "傑作" (kessaku), which does translate to "masterpiece," but they say that sounds harsh.

-Another comment says to do the "Mozzarella Cheese Game." The band has no idea what it is, but a staff member off-camera seems to know it as the band gets surprised and goes, "Eh, you know what it is?!" They tell the band and they start to call out "Mozzarella cheese!" They decide to do it for real, starting from TOMO. When it gets to RINA, she says it even softer than HARU, and everyone chides her for saying it that softly. RINA can't stop giggling, and MAMI comments that the game's over now.

-The MC says how there's also the "Aishiteru Game" (one player keeps saying "aishiteru" to the other player, and whoever laughs or gets embarrassed loses). RINA says that'd be impossible, and HARU and MAMI laugh and say it'd be impossible for her. The MC says that you lose if you get embarrassed.

-T: "You mean if your face turns red?"-H: "You can't make a noise like 'hmph'?"-MC: "Nope."-R: "Wow, that kind of game exists, huh?"-MC: "Try doing it!"-M: "No! I don't want to!"-T: "It'd be hard to win against HARU."-R: "*reading comments* What's the 'Hourensou (spinach) Game'?" (Looks like whoever starts it out puts both hands into fists to represent spinach and pass them out to two different people while saying "hourensou"...not entirely sure what happens after that/also too lazy to figure it out lol)-S: "There are so many of these games!"-M: "*reading comments* What's an 'Earphone Gangan Game' (It's kind of like the Whisper Challenge)?"-T+H: "'Earphone Gangan Game'??"*A staff member says they know it*-T: "Everyone know what these are!"-R: "*reading comments* 'Kashi Nottori (lyrics takeover) Game'(First person sings lyrics and the next person has to sing lyrics that start with the last word used)"?-M: "*reading comments* What's the 'Nanja Monja Game'?"-H: "It's a card game, isn't it? There are a bunch of weird characters in it, which you give nicknames to when they're drawn. If a character that's already been drawn and named is drawn again, someone has to shout out what its name is."-T: "Sounds difficult!"-R: "You have to remember them?"-H: "That's right."

56:10 - end-They start to wrap things up. They mention how all of those games listed sound interesting. MAMI: "I have no idea what any of them are!"

-HARU goes over all things announced today, thanks everyone for tuning in for this hour, and to enjoy next month's and the following month's streams. The band starts saying "Mozzarella cheese!" softly.

Edit: Here's the full stream:

Summary of the first ten minutes:

Spoiler:

-This is the first of 3 live streams, with all of them being on the 25th of each month

-The MC asks the band what "her" is about, and asks TOMO to answer it.

-T: "'her' is our freshly established new record label."-MC: "That's a surprisingly ordinary explanation."-T: "Eh, I can't explain it in detail!"*HARU laughs*-MC: "I expected too much."-H: "*to TOMO* What were they expecting?"-T: "No idea! So scary!"-R: "Talk about bad compatibility!"*Band laughs*

-RINA is handed a phone and starts reading comments ("Congrats on your new label").

-The MC asks if that earlier "explanation" of "her" was okay. The band says a little more about it.

-H: "It'll be from this spring onwards."-R: "It's a private label, meaning that it's SCANDAL's only record label. We'll be putting out all sorts of work on it such as new songs and videos."

-They announce a contest where the top 3 users who give the most support gifts (digital gifts you buy with LINE coins) on the stream will win signed "her" stickers.

-They then announce that their new single will be a double A-side one, then the release date, and finally the title.

-RINA discusses "Masterpiece": "We debuted this song at a few of our live shows last year. We hadn't announced the title yet, but there were many people who heard the song. It's a punkish, cool, speedy song. I wrote the lyrics while MAMI wrote the music. I think it'll be a killer tune at future shows. A really cool song. It's a starting song for us."

-RINA discusses "Mabataki": "I wrote both the lyrics and music. It has a feminine, sweet mood to it, and also has a bit of sensuality. It's a pretty feminine song."

My first blog of 2019I haven't updated in a bit - sorry about thatー!At the end of the year I took a trip to South KoreaFor New Year's I went home to Nara for a bit to see my parentsIn Tokyo we did a ton of prepping for this year

It seems like it'll unbelivably be 2 years and 8 monthsSince our last single release on CD (I'm shockedThanks for waitingWe've made the greatest double A-side single

The bonuses are pretty wonderfulLimited Edition A comes with a magazineWe had "ROCKIN'ON JAPAN"'s editor-in-chief Koyanagi-sanDelve into and interview usAbout our new songs and our new label.

There are probably even topics we haven't talked about anywhere but here.

In addition to that, there's also a bunch of other things like exclusive picturesAnd solo interviews.I think it turned out to be somethingThat'll have you enjoy SCANDAL all the more.Limited Edition B comes with a t-shirtThe design printed on itIs the cover artworkWe had collage artist Q-TA make. It'll come in a size L (US mens' size S/M).It's really adorable.When the t-shirt arrives,I'll post pictures of me wearing itー!

And the Regular Edition.The instrumental version of "Masterpiece" is on it,So you can enjoy the band sound in detail︎

That being said,We still haven't recorded them yetAnd will record both tracks now.We'll make them great, so look forward to them, okay

There will also be release events!Where each of us will be heading for one-day managersWill be determined during the live stream on LINE LIVE next month on the 25th.Can't wait

We'll meet up at a live house for 「Bakuon Shichou-kai」 [Explosive Listening Party],And in our hometown of Osaka (we won't be bursting out in laughter, though*)We'll have an event called 「Hohoemi Zadan-kai」 [Smiling Round-Table Discussion].Excited

*"We won't be bursting out in laughter, though" = Seems to be referring to the names of both events. RINA used the word "爆笑" (bakushou; roar of laughter), and the first kanji "爆" is used in the "爆音試聴会" (Bakuon Shichou-kai = Explosive Listening Party) event name, while the second kanji "笑" is used in the "微笑み座談会" (Hohoemi Zadan-kai = Smiling Round-Table Discussion) event name.

On March 27th (Wed.), new single 『Masterpiece / Mabataki』 with two A-sides will be released as the first release from SCANDAL's private record label "her."

This work, kicking off to a new start along with the establishing of new label "her," will be the band's first double A-side single.

「Masterpiece」, featuring positive lyrics filled with hope for a new start and future that's characteristic of SCANDAL, is a fast-paced rock number. With 「Mabataki」, a completely unpublished new song, the members wanted to write a completely different type of song that would go together with 「Masterpiece」.

For the creative aspect of this work, the covers were made by Q-TA, a collage artist garnering attention with high fashion pop collage & visual works and working both domestically and abroad on commercials; CDs; magazines; book bindings; decorative designs; and with visual collaborations for apparel brands.

★Magazine: "her" Magazine (36 pages)A special magazine that goes more into depth about the new songs than anywhere else, and has interviews where the band speaks about their new label "her"! It's packed with highlights such as a photo session that can't be seen anywhere else, and personal interviews you can't read anywhere else!

LINE LIVE special programs to celebrate the release of SCANDAL's new single will be broadcast live 3 months in a row!!

The first one will be this Friday from 20:00 JST〜Don't miss it!

SCANDAL has established their private record label "her," and to commemorate the release of their new single 「Masterpiece / Mabataki」 (マスターピース / まばたき; Blink), a special program will be aired live 3 months in a row!